What A Dream!
by unoptional
Summary: A small group of friend and some accompanies are stuck all alone in their own town. They start investigating and getting suspicious of everyone around. When some of them start disappearing, will love and friendship be enough to keep them together?Ch. 7 up
1. Awakening

Thanks for readin' mah fanfic. =D This is based on the movie Beautiful Dreamer. I changed some things significantly. The characters are my own and belong to me. :O This chapter is a little boring but it goes by pretty fast. The next chapter will be up in a matter of minutes. Yes, minutes. I am that good. ;)   
  
Laura sat up wearily in her bed, spending a minute or so stretching and rubbing her eyes. She looked to the clock and suddenly became wide awake. It was only 2:30 am and it was pitch black except for the neon green glow of the numbers on her radio alarm. Her boom box on the other side of her, played Clay Aiken softly. Most of her stuffed animals fallen to the floor, she blinked at the wall and cursed under her breath as she felt her soaked hair fallen out of the bun she'd put it in. Fixing it, she hummed along to her favorite song.  
  
Laura's stomach growled loudly and she groaned, fighting her hunger. She fell back on her pillow and stared at the ceiling, making pictures in the stucco. A shuge rumble came from her throat as she laughed hysterically at a monkey eating a hot dog with legs and a cowboy hat that she had found next to a small heart in the ceiling. She rolled over and stuffed her face into the pillow so's to muffle her laugh. Once she got her laugh out, she sighed into the pillow and turned her head towards the other pillow. Her eyes closed drowsily and Clay Aiken soon lulled her to sleep.  
  
Laura woke up again a few hours later. Her clock now read 6:30. She jumped out of bed and rummaged through her drawers for something to wear. Finding her favorite outfit in a confusing puzzle of drawers and putting it on, she stuffed her two notebooks into her backpack, ran to the bathroom to fix her hair and brush her teeth, and ran back into her room to regroup. She looked to the clock and saw she only had five more minutes. She grabbed her heart hoop earrings and put them on skillfully. Slipping into her tan boots, she grabbed her Clay Aiken cd and placed it into her portable cd player. Grabbing the last thing on her list, her mechanical pencil, she shoved it into her pocket and slung her backpack over her shoulder and ran out the door just after her sister.  
  
Lianna had woken up long before Laura, scaring herself it was so early. She had showered and taken a great deal of time on her hair. Wearing one of her best outfits, she gathered all of her stuff together. Stuffing all of her school work into her backpack and of course forgetting her very important math homework, she dragged her backpack out of her room and left it in front of the door. She went to get some breakfast and watch a little tv. After about fifteen minutes, she walked over to the door and threw her backpack over her shoulder, walked out the door and closed it, a goodbye to her parents echoing through the house.  
  
Baron had been awake for a while, staring at the ceiling and contemplating school. He sighed as his little sister, Bailey, ran into his room yelling for him to get up. Hastily getting up, he went through his drawers looking for something to wear. Grabbing random things out of different drawers, he gathered it all on his bed and decided it was good. After he got dressed, he went into his bathroom and cupped his hands under the running water and splashed it on his face and hair. He shook his head violently so's to give his hair that flip. Wiping his face dry, he looked at himself in the mirror over the towel. His blue eyes stood out from his dirty-blonde hair. Satisfied with the way he looked, he went to get all of his school stuff. A few minutes later and it was time to leave for school. Cursing under his breath as he passed Bailey, she didn't have to leave for another two hours, he walked out of the door.  
  
Michael awoke early on a dreaded Monday morning. After his normal morning routine, he gathered all his school stuff and started off to school. Everything was the same as every other Monday morning except one thing: he hadn't seen anyone else. No one else walking to school. No one out getting the newspaper nor did he see anyone through their windows watching the morning news. He just shrugged it off and headed towards school.  
  
Thats the first chapter, hope you enjoyed it's boring-ness. Next chapter VERY soon to come. =D. Please r&r? Thanks, I love you, bye.  
  
-Laurachan 


	2. No one there?

Did ya like the first chapter? Yeah I know it was boring. : I told you.. But this one gets a litttllleee bit more interesting. Not much. The better stuff comes just a little later. Enjoy this chapter and the next will be up shortly! Oh and I'm working on this one part.. like a lot. So just ignore the "construction" warnings and skip that a little. It's not a very significant part.   
  
Lianna, living the closest, got to their school, KHMS- Kuro Hayano Middle School, first. She walked into the commons and sat on the cold concrete of the planter. Sighing, she dropped her backpack under the wood bench her feet rested on. She looked down at her shoes, admiring them, and then looked up, glancing around. "What the?! Where is everyone?!" She jumped down off of the planter and ran into the cafeteria. It was empty. She ran to the library, empty; "C" hall, empty; "B" hall, empty; even "A" hall, empty! Finally she went to the two gyms in turn. They were both empty. "Is it Sunday or something?!"  
  
"No.. It's Monday, dork." a deep voice came from behind Lianna, making her jump onto the table.  
  
Michael fell over laughing.  
  
"UGH. MICHAEL! Don't scare me like that!" Lianna bent over to scream in his face, her long brown hair flowing over her shoulders. She stopped, getting caught up in his eyes. CONSTRUCTION  
  
Ending his laughing spree, Michael sat down on the table, bending one leg for an armrest.  
  
/CONSTRUCTION When they reached the planter, Laura was standing there watching the distance nervously.  
  
Michael jumped behind her and screamed at the back of her head. "BOOOOOOOOO."  
  
"Ah..." Laura said dully, elbowing Michael. He fell back onto the wood bench.  
  
"HAHAHAHAHAHH." Lianna fell on him, laughing.  
  
"Shut up. I got you." Michael pushed her off of him, climbing up to sit on the concrete.  
  
Lianna did the same, tilting her head to the side in Laura's direction. "What cha lookin' at? S'Baron coming?" she spoke with a nudgenudge tone.  
  
Laura just shrugged. "I didn't see him on the way to school and.. He's not here yet is he?"  
  
Lianna and Michael shrugged at once. "We haven't seen him." Lianna spoke for both of them.  
  
"Actually, you two are the only people that I have seen this morning other than my parents and my brother." Michael spoke up.  
  
"Hmm.. Yeah. That's.. creepy." Michael's comment made Laura worry and you could see it in her eyes. She dropped her backpack and ran to the corner of the band room, leaning over to see if anyone was coming.  
  
Lianna's expression was all weird. "Hey that is creepy. And.. no one's here. At all. I checked everywhere. OOPS. The only place I forgot was the band room. But you could hardly fit a whole school in that tiny room." her eyes scanned around Michael's face.  
  
"We should prolly check though." Michael glanced away from Lianna and then back again, not wanting to drop his gaze from her eyes. He forced himself to turn away as he yelled to Laura as she headed back. "HEY. Check and see if anyone's in the band room!"  
  
"Why?" Laura quirked an eyebrow.  
  
"Just look." Michael rolled his eyes.  
  
"Aight then." Laura turned around and headed towards the see-through black door that lead first to Mr. Dedmon's office which went through to the band room. She reached for the handle and opened it, surprised it wasn't locked. She stepped into the squished room, glancing around nervously since she'd never actually been in the band room. "Hellooo?" her voice echoed off the high ceiling.  
  
Something that sounded like shuffling papers was coming from a corner in the room. After the echoing stopped so did the shuffling. "Hello?" a strange woman-like voice came from behind Mr. Dedmon's desk and he stood up.  
  
Laura fell over, realizing Mr. Dedmon had been the one who said Hello in that tone. After a few good laughs she stood up and walked over to his desk. "Hey Mr. Dedmon! Didn't you realize no one else is here?"  
  
"Yeah.. Thought I was just early. But school should be starting in about two minutes so somethin' must be up. Think it's Sunday still?" Mr. Dedmon's voice seemed to be calming Laura's nerves.  
  
"News this morning said it was Monday." Laura shrugged and turned around to look out of the see-through black wall that went with the door. Seeing Baron outside talking with Lianna and Michael, she turned back to Mr. Dedmon and, with a flick of her wrist, invited him outside with her. "We gotta see what's up with all this." She turned again and ran to the door, running out and over to Baron. Wrapping her arms around him, she giggled happily.  
  
"Hey." Baron smiled slightly and returned the hug. "Sorry it took so long for me to get here."  
  
Mr. Dedmon came through the door and walked over to the small group. "So we're the only ones here?"  
  
Lianna nodded slowly at the look on Mr. Dedmon's face. "Checked everywhere."  
  
Laura sat down by Lianna's feet on the wooden bench and Baron sat next to her. She smiled brightly and took his hand, looking up at Mr. Dedmon.  
  
"Not everywhere." a familiar voice came from behind the planter. "Heh, never did have the guts just to walk into the teacher's lounge did ya, Lianna?" the voice chuckled and footsteps claimed the owner of the voice was coming over to them.  
  
Laura's smile just widened while the others got real jumpy. "Heyy! You're still here too!"  
  
suspense, I know. :O Next chapter will be up very shortly. If you get annoyed with the description of my school not being very clear... I'm sorry. It'll stop real soon and start getting interesting. Please r&r! Please, thanks, i love you, bye.  
  
-Laurachan 


	3. Missing person and Someone New

This chapter has tons and tons of edits. Sorry, before I just wasn't very satisfied with anything about it. So I changed and added stuff. Plus my boyfriend said it was too plain. ( Enjoy.   
  
Laura giggled as her favorite teacher walked in front of them.  
  
"Hey Miss Higman!" Michael chimed up, only taking his eyes off of Lianna for a moment.  
  
"Yeah it's me." Miss Higman stood beside Mr. Dedmon, feeling like the teachers should stick together and keep their power.  
  
Griping Baron's hand tighter, Laura just smiled happily in all the confusion.  
  
Lianna spoke next, nudging Laura with her foot as she saw her and Baron holding hands. "I wonder why we're the only ones here?"  
  
They all went silent in their own thoughts and nothing seemed to move for a good minute except the occasional happy-sigh from Laura. They all jumped as all of a sudden the intercom came on. It was Mr. Swisher. "Good morning students. This week is the last week before Christmas break. I hope you all have a good holiday and I hope that you all will take advantage of tutoring tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday to catch up with any work that you're missing or if you are having any trouble.." he went on to say some things about keeping your grades up and not burning someone else's house to make yours look good but the small group wasn't listening.  
  
"MR SWISHER!" Michael suddenly yelled out loud, only making the others annoyed for that was the most obvious thing in the world. He jumped down, over Baron, off of the planter and started to run to the doors of B hall. "I'll go see if he's in the office!" was the only 'hint' to where he was going.  
  
Lianna watched him closely, turning her head to stare after him longingly, with a worried look in her eyes.  
  
"GOOD IDEA." Mr. Dedmon screamed after Michael as the doors closed behind him.  
  
"That's weird. Why would Mr. Swisher announce stuff when no one is here except us? And he doesn't even know we're here." Baron quirked a brow. "And how come we haven't seen him? You said you looked everywhere except the band room and the teacher's lounge, right Lianna?"  
  
Lianna nodded slowly, looking to Miss Higman.  
  
"And Miss Higman was in the teacher's lounge. Was Mr. Swisher in there?" Baron looked to Miss Higman as well.  
  
"No.. I was the only one in there." Miss Higman replied.  
  
"And Laura, you checked the band room, right?" Baron continued to ask questions, turning his eyes to Laura for the answer.  
  
"Yeah.. only Mr. Dedmon was in there." Laura looked up at Lianna, who had turned to watch where Michael had run again.  
  
"Maybe he's not here. He says basically the same thing everyday. Maybe it's a recording." Baron looked around at the others as he spoke, looking for a response.  
  
Michael came running around the corner, panting silently. "He's not there. The creepy thing is, the button to turn on the intercom was pushed in.. And he was still talking over it when I got there.." He took his place on the planter again, stepping over Laura and Baron and just barely avoiding Lianna's foot.  
  
"That's creepy?" Lianna looked over to Michael, happy that he was back and that she could stare at his perfect face.  
  
Everyone just sat in silence for a few moments, watching the large clock outside the cafeteria wall closely as the hands never moved an inch.  
  
"Hey! The clock is broken!!" Lianna screamed, almost in Michael's ear, and so suddenly it made everyone jump.  
  
"It's been broken for ten years, Lianna." Michael's eyes showed a confused concern.  
  
"Oh.... Oh yeah..." Lianna slouched sadly and continued watching the clock, not knowing why she had looked to it in the first place.  
  
Laura was the only one not looking at the clock. She stared off into the distance. " Mr. Dedmon? Will you tell us the legend again..?"  
  
Mr. Dedmon nodded slowly and opened his mouth to start the age old tale. "Almost forever and a day ago, our town's hero, Kuro Hayano, climbed atop a white wolf and that wolf took him to the Temple Of Time where he told The Kazuikana about his village. He spoke of the people and of the culture, stopping to mention many times the Festival of Ai. "He explained to The Kazuikana how the annual celebration was always the day everyone looked forward to. How the streets filled with people to watch the parade that always took weeks to plan. And it was also the time where many fell in love. There were fun games for the younsters, like the goldfish game, where they used little nets to catch goldfish and got to keep the ones they caught. It was everyones favorite game. "Kuro told The Kazuikana how much he dreamt that the Festival of Ai would be everyday. He said that all life would be so perfect and everyone would be happy. The Kazuikana agreed with him and told him that he could make his dream a reality. "The Kazuikana promised to make the Festival of Ai everyday as long as Kuro would sacrafice his ability to feel love. He would be sacraficing his own love so that others could fall in love. "Kuro agreed after much thought and so lost his love. He climbed back atop the white wolf and it took him home, where he lived out the rest of his days sad and alone as his village filled to the brim with happiness until the day he died. "Not much more to the legend except that after Kuro died, the Festival of Ai returned to an annual event and rumors that, wherever he was, he was in love."  
  
Lianna sighed contently and, keeping her eyes on the clock, blinked slowly. Laura smiled as her favorite tale was finished.  
  
Suddenly, everyone gasped as the clock hands moved backwards with a loud click. The clock had always been stuck on 12:01 and now that it read 12:00, a loud 'bong' came from it's face. It bonged 12 times and then finally stopped. They had all calmed down and just stared at one another when Laura squealed louder than they ever had heard before.  
  
"WOOOWWWWWWW. LOOK AT HIM!" Laura let go of Baron's hand and stood up, straightening her arm in the air to point at someone in the distance.  
  
They all squinted and watched the approaching figure.  
  
Lianna jumped onto the wood bench, eyes wide. "Woooowwwwww."  
  
Miss Higman and Mr. Dedmon just watched as the two girls swooned over the figure that was still approaching.  
  
Baron gave Laura a confused look and, realizing she wasn't even paying any attention to him, looked to Michael who was just as confused.  
  
Lianna jumped off the bench and walked over to stand beside Laura.  
  
"Back off, you got Michael." Laura's voice was sharp and yet filled with kindness.  
  
"Well you got Baron!" Lianna whispered loudly, noticing the kindness only slightly.  
  
"Who?" Laura turned to look at Lianna, a confused look on her face.  
  
Lianna gave her a weird look and shrugged mostly to herself. "Baron sucks anyway, forget I mentioned him." she looked to her feet and blushed slightly. "Besides.. You're right.. I gotta follow my heart."  
  
As the figure came closer, Laura rushed over to him, Lianna close behind. "Hiya, stranger." she grinned sideways and tilted her head slightly, her heart-hoops shining in the sunlight.  
  
Hope you enjoyed the changes. I thought it was a lot better. I'm probably going to be adding a few more chapters today. If you think they're good, please please r&r. I kinda lost interest in writing this.. But I'll continue if people like it. ( Thanks. I love you. Bye.  
  
-Laurachan 


	4. Young Love, Young Heartbreak

I know what you're thinking, FINALLY. A NEW CHAPTER. ( sorryyyyy it took so long. Theres more to come as well. Enjoy!   
  
"G'day mates, don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting." He nodded slightly in greeting, a bright smile shown upon his perfectly complected face, "The names Richie."  
  
"Nice.. great to meet you, Richie!" Lianna smiled widely and reached to shake his hand, quickly realizing he had it in his pocket.  
  
"I'm Laura. Great pleasure meeting you, Richie!" Laura's grin had spread across her face as she admired his currently unruly brown hair and stunning blue eyes.  
  
"Pleasures all mine." Richie's perfect smile shown brighter as he removed his hand from his pocket, reaching out to shake Laura's now outstretched hand.  
  
Lianna stomped her foot and shown a stern gaze in Laura's direction. "I'm Lianna.." she grumbled and bit her lip, looking now to Richie.  
  
Richie released Laura's hand and turned to Lianna, shaking her half unexpecting hand. "Lianna is it? Wonderful meeting you. Beautiful name, by the way." he returned his hand to his pocket, walking past the girls as Lianna shot a raspberry towards Laura.  
  
Ignoring Lianna's 'bragging' raspberry, Laura walked quickly to stay at Richie's side and, staring up at him, she almost tripped over a bench as they passed it.  
  
Michael watched the two of them, tripping over themselves to stay closer to Richie than the other. Holding back a laugh, he bit his lip and watched Lianna closely, noticing she wasn't trying as hard as Laura.  
  
Miss Higman sighed at them and walked to one of the wood benches, sitting down.  
  
Mr. Dedmon took a few steps back and leaned against the wall, watching everyone else from afar.  
  
Baron just stared as the three got closer until they stopped in the middle of them all. "Who're you?" he shot a glare in Richie's direction.  
  
"This is Richie.." Lianna told everyone, looking in Michael and Baron's direction.  
  
Laura just nodded, not taking her eyes off of Richie and clinging to his arm.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Richie. I'm Michael." Michael spoke first, as if expecting to be the only one to speak.  
  
Richie nodded his agreement, looking around to the others and then down to Laura, clinging to his arm as if her life depended on it.  
  
"I'm Pam. What brings you here?" Miss Higman released her first name, not wanting to make a confusing scene with 'Miss Higman'.  
  
Richie shrugged sideways, not being able to lift both of his shoulders because of Laura's grip. "I was sleeping.. And I woke up in that field over there." he turned slightly and removed his hand from his pocket, pointing to somewhere in the distance. "I heard people talking, so I followed the voices. And here I am."  
  
Mr. Dedmon crossed his arms, looking to his feet. "Good thing you found us.."  
  
Laura spoke zombie-like and without taking her eyes off of Richie or even blinking. "Really glad... you found... us..." she smiled sideways up at him.  
  
Richie looked down at Laura and shown his perfect smile again. "I'm glad I found you too."  
  
Lianna trotted over to the planter, jumping up onto the wood bench and sitting next to Michael on the concrete.  
  
Michael's gaze followed Lianna until she sat next to him, his eyes glancing away as he saw her's rest on his face.  
  
Baron shot a stern glare in Laura and Richie's direction, noting that neither one had taken their eyes off the other. He stood up and stomped his feet as he walked past the two, bumping into Laura with his shoulder before yelling back at the rest, "I'm going home."  
  
Laura stumbled, griping Richie's arm to keep her balance. She shot an intense glare at Baron, looking back to Richie after making the glare vanish.  
  
Mr. Dedmon's eyes followed Baron with a concerned look, "Come back here tomorrow. That's an order."  
  
Baron nodded distantly, disappearing around the band room corner.  
  
Richie glanced to where Baron disappeared, a confused look on his face. "Who's that?"  
  
Michael looked to Richie, wanting to be the one who knows everything. "He's Baron, Laura's boyfriend. But by the way she's hangin' all over you, I'd say ex-boyfriend."  
  
Mr. Dedmon spoke mostly to himself, but loud enough so everyone could hear. "Jeune amour, jeune déchirement de cœur."  
  
"Tu es efficace moi!" Richie chuckled and winked looking to Mr. Dedmon for a moment and then back to Laura.  
  
Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter up very soon. Please r&r. Thanks. I love you. Bye.  
  
-Laurachan  
  
p.s. sorry Miscellaneous Penguin. I guess I just kinda took the story line. : I'm not good with characters.. 


	5. Going Home

Next chapter. Whee. ( I like this one. It's a little cheesy and throws a lot of plot into a little ammount of time. According to my boyfriend. : But it's ok.. If you like cheesy. Enjoy!   
  
Lianna's eyes watched Michael's face closely as she faced her head in the direction of the people talking, so's to lessen the chances of anyone noticing she was staring at Michael.  
  
Miss Higman tapped her foot idly, watching the others converse.  
  
None of the small group had even noticed how much time had gone by. The bells and tardy bells rang and their heads were so full of thoughts and emotions they didn't even notice.  
  
Michael cleared his throat, watching Lianna out of the corner of his eye, "Maybe we should all go home and come back tomorrow. This all was a strange experience and we probably all need some rest." He stood on the wood bench, stretching his arms out and yawning.  
  
Laura nodded, not taking her eyes off of Richie. "Where will you go?" she tilted her head to the side slightly, staring into Richie's eyes. "You can stay with me if you have no where else to go..."  
  
Mr. Dedmon watched the way Laura was staring at Richie and spoke his concern. "Maybe Richie should stay with Michael until tomorrow. It'd be better." He looked to Miss Higman, knowing she would back him up.  
  
Michael nodded, jumping off of the bench. "You can stay with me, Richie." He walked over to them, prying Laura from Richie's arm.  
  
Miss Higman stood and nodded at the entire group. "That's a better idea. You all come back here tomorrow, now?"  
  
"Yes ma'am!" the teens answered in sync.  
  
Mr. Dedmon snorted a quick laugh, lifting a hand to wave them away. "Go on home now. Be safe and get some rest." He walked into his office to get his things.  
  
Lianna jumped off the planter and they all grabbed their backpacks, throwing them over their shoulders.  
  
Their walking arrangement was a simple problem with a complicated solution. Michael and Lianna walked next to each other in the middle, Laura on Lianna's side and Richie on Michael's, to keep Laura from jumping on Richie.  
  
Even though they could all walk the whole way together, just standing between them wasn't enough, Laura kept lunging over reaching for Richie while Lianna held her back, so they decided to split up.  
  
When they got closer to Lianna's house, Michael and Richie turned onto a different street that would lead them around past Laura's house, to Michael's.  
  
Laura whimpered and pouted but stayed on her course with Lianna.  
  
When they reached Lianna's house, she turned and walked up to the front door, looking back at Laura who had turned around to look at the street Michael and Richie had turned on. "Don't even think about it, missy. You'll see him tomorrow."  
  
Laura stomped her foot and continued walking towards her own house, waving weakly back at Lianna as she stepped in the door.  
  
Michael and Richie were walking on the other side of two houses from Laura, so close yet so far away. All three watching their feet with an occasional glance up to make sure they weren't going to run into a pole.  
  
Laura grumbled and dragged her feet, thinking about Richie. She started daydreaming and forgot to glance up. After a few seconds she closed her eyes and ran smack dab into a trashcan. "OOWWWWW."  
  
Richie looked up and over to the side, scanning around the houses that stood between him and Laura. "Did you hear that?"  
  
Michael shrugged and bit his lip, Lianna on his mind.  
  
"Hmm... Sounded like Laura..." he paused for a moment and listened closely, grabbing Michael's arm to stop him from walking and making noise as well.  
  
After a few seconds of silence, they started walking again. Richie spoke with a swift kick that flung a small rock across the street, "I guess I was just imagining it..."  
  
Michael nodded and sighed lightly. "Let's hurry up and get home so it'll be tomorrow faster.."  
  
Richie quickened his pace to show his agreement. "Thinkin' about Lianna?"  
  
Michael shrugged sideways, keeping at Richie's side. "Maybe.."  
  
Laura hopped the whole way home, having stubbed her toe on the garbage can. When she reached her front door she opened it and slowly entered, dropping her backpack against the wall and calling to her mom. "Mooommm?! I'm home!!" she walked into her bedroom and plopped down on her bed, sighing deeply. She stood and took a few steps towards her dresser, reaching for her cds. Taking the blue case they all were placed in, she flipped through to find her Camino Palmero cd. Putting it inside her boom box and repeating her favorite song, she walked out of her room and into the kitchen to get a snack.  
  
Lianna sat at her computer, typing at an unbelievably fast rate and eating a bowl of ramen she had made only a few moments after she entered her house. Seeing Michael sign online, she messaged him.  
  
'you're always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul.' [143.637] working on pe project. says: Ha-lo!  
MichAeL - XIII says: Hey.  
MichAeL - XIII says: Richies already made himself at home. he's watching tv and drinking my soda.  
'you're always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul.' [143.637] working on pe project. says: lol  
'you're always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul.' [143.637] working on pe project. says: today was strange. . and i wonder why no one else is online. .  
MichAeL - XIII says: yeah. i hope everything just stops spinning tomorrow.  
'you're always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul.' [143.637] working on pe project. says: stops spinning?  
MichAeL - XIII says: isn't so hectic.  
'you're always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul.' [143.637] working on pe project. says: oh. . um, michael?  
MichAeL - XIII says: yeah?  
'you're always on my mind, in my heart, in my soul.' [143.637] working on pe project. says: . .nevermind  
MichAeL - XIII says: um ok. listen, i gotta go. richie is going through the fridge. :S  
MichAeL - XIII is now offline.  
  
Lianna closed the window with a long sigh and leaned back in her chair, staring at the screen blankly.  
  
Richie sat on Michael's bed after being dragged away from the fridge. Digging his fist into his knee, he watched Michael rummage through his closet looking for nothing in particular.  
  
Michael pulled out a shoebox and stared at it, catching his breath.  
  
Richie quirked a brow, eyeing the box, "What's that?"  
  
Michael just stared at it, keeping quiet. He sat on the bed and set the old- looking shoebox in his lap, reading the words pasted in cut-out letters from a magazine on the top: "LiANna AND mIchAel. FrIENdS forEveR!" He placed a hand on the box and wiped away some dust that hid what white was left on the colored deep blue shoebox covered in happy faces and stamps of various animals and cartoon characters. Placing a fingertip beneath the lid of the box, he gently opened it.  
  
Richie had adjusted his position so he was sitting next to Michael and looking into the box as well.  
  
Michael flipped through a pile of pictures of him and Lianna and some friends that had been taken when they were around 7 or 8. Admiring the many bright smiles and funny faces, he chuckled at each one as his head filled with memories and forgotten names of old friends.  
  
Richie tilted his head to the side, watching each picture go by and glancing at Michael occasionally to laugh at his wide smile.  
  
Michael finished looking at the pictures and set them aside, looking into the box again. He pulled out some papers that were covered in strange drawings that didn't seem half bad for being drawn by two 7-year-olds. Next he found a collection of bottle caps kept neatly in a plastic bag. Each one read "Sorry. Try again." He cleared them out of the way and saw something he'd never seen before... A folded piece of binder paper was taped to the bottom of the box and on the front read "For Michael."  
  
Suspense. ( Hope you liked it. Next chapter up soon. Btw, I'm thinking about writing a lemon. So if you like lemons.. maybe you'll check it out? ( It prolly won't be very good. :S but I wanna try. Please r&r. Thanks. I love you. Bye.  
  
-Laurachan 


	6. At Least She Thought

Next Chapter, whee. ( There will prolly only be one more chapter. One or two. For now at least. Enjoy!   
  
Richie let out a long breath and kind of nudged Michael, for he was just sitting there staring at it.  
  
Michael carefully removed each piece of tape from the corners of the paper and unfolded it neatly. The handwriting was neat and looked like it had been written recently. He read each word slowly and carefully:  
  
Hey, this has been on my mind for a while and i was so afraid to say it ( i still kind of am. ) it took me years to build this courage, so hear me out. i really like you. a lot. and i know its weird; how we've been friends for a long time and then suddenly i get this huge crush. it's been building up for a long time. a lot of people have been saying we should go out, and that we're meant to be, and stuff. a part of me wants to ask you, while a part is holding back. i dont want to lose our friendship, but i like you more than a friend. a lot more. in a way, i dont want to go out with you because the way you and alex ended up. that taught me something. i tried to hide my feelings. but it comes back everytime i talk to you or see you. and i guess that's it. . oh i hope you NEVER find this. .  
  
A signature was scribbled at the bottom: "Love, Lianna"  
  
Michael caught his breath sharply. A tear fell from his cheek and landed on the paper. He cleared his throat and folded the paper back up, sniffling almost unnoticably. He looked to Richie and smiled sideways. "What do you say we go get some dinner?"  
  
Richie nodded slowly, watching Michael place everything back into the box except the letter, which he set on his dresser as they walked out.  
  
The next day, all of the group, except Baron, met at Lianna's house on the way to school. Laura instantly clung to Richie and Michael walked akwardly beside Lianna. They were all silent until they got to the commons.  
  
Mr. Dedmon was leaning against the planter, waiting for them. He looked at them each in turn and when he realized Baron wasn't there, stood up straight, taking a step towards them, "Where's Baron?"  
  
Lianna shrugged, looking to the others, "He didn't meet us in front of my house where we usually do?"  
  
Mr. Dedmon took another step forward, "Where's Baron?! I'm serious, if anyone knows where he is, speak up."  
  
Laura looked to the ground, staying quiet.  
  
Michael watched Laura suspiciously and looked up at Mr. Dedmon to see he was looking at her too.  
  
Richie saw everyone moving their heads and in confusion, looked to Laura and suddenly understood.  
  
Lianna followed the lead of everyone else and stepped up next to her best friend. "Where's Baron, Laura..?"  
  
Laura instantly started crying and stuffed her face into her hands.  
  
Richie wrapped his arm around her shoulders and Lianna patted her on the back.  
  
"Where is he, Laura?" Mr. Dedmon didn't seem to care she was crying and still had his serious tone.  
  
"I.." Laura lifted her head and sniffled, looking to Mr. Dedmon, "I was.. feeling bad.. so I.."  
  
Lianna watched concerned and Michael slid into place next to her.  
  
"I.. went to see him... and.. he.. he.. he's dead..." Laura turned and stuffed her face into Richie's chest, gasping for air as she bawled.  
  
Richie wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close.  
  
Lianna stood, staring at her best friend embraced in her new obsession's arms, with pure shock stamped all over her face.  
  
Michael gasped and placed a hand on Lianna's shoulder to keep from fainting.  
  
Mr. Dedmon took a step back, and another, returning to the position they had found him in. "That's what I was afraid of..."  
  
"H-how.. Wh-why?!" Lianna snapped back.  
  
Richie stayed quiet, no surprise or any emotion on his face except protection for the one he currently held so close.  
  
Michael reached for Lianna's arm and moved his hand to her other shoulder, forgetting why exactly he was comforting her.  
  
After a minute or so, Laura stopped crying but stayed in Richie's arms.  
  
Richie rested his head on Laura's, whispering random comforts and calming phrases to her silent form.  
  
Michael had taken Lianna in his arms and she graciously accepted his embrace, leaning against him, not knowing whether to be happy or sad.  
  
Miss Higman had joined them and stood watching them, confused.  
  
Mr. Dedmon sighed lightly and stood up straight, heading towards his office without a word.  
  
Laura felt safe in Richie's arms, like Baron didn't even matter, but she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that it was her fault he was dead. Just the day before, she had been head over heels in love with Baron one minute and completely ignoring him the next. The instant she saw Richie, nothing else was on her mind except how gorgeous he was. And after talking to him for only a few minutes, she knew she was meant for no one else. Baron was the only thing keeping her from Richie and eternal happiness. But she had loved Baron. She began crying again and dug her face into Richie's chest, who in turn hugged her tighter.  
  
At least she thought she had loved Baron..  
  
Please r&r! Thanks. I love you. Bye.  
  
-Laurachan  
  
p.s. if you have any suggestions for ANYTHING please tell me. I'm kinda having trouble. 


	7. We Should Get Together

Next Chapter. It's pretty... uhh.. strange. ( I like it a lot though because it starts to shape up the story a bit.   
  
The rest of the day everyone was quiet. Laura managed to stay in Richie's arms the entire time they were at school. Michael had explained what Laura had told them to Miss Higman, adding a little for reasons unknown. Lianna found herself pacing and thinking, though only on the other side of the commons, on another planet. Mr. Dedmon had not emerged from his office since he had entered.  
  
Michael stood commandingly in front of the weery group, clearing his throat loudly so even Lianna, who was still across the commons, could hear.  
  
Lianna stopped pacing and walked up behind Laura and Richie, resting a hand on her hip and looking knowingly towards Michael.  
  
Laura turned around in Richie's arms and leaned against him, looking to Michael.  
  
Richie held Laura protectively, watching Michael as well.  
  
Miss Higman had taken a seat on one of the wood benches, still trying to decipher what had actually happened. She glanced away from her steady distraction on the ground and moved her eyes to rest on Michael.  
  
Michael cleared his throat once more, making sure all attention was on him before he spoke. "Today was a very sad day," Lianna noted that he sounded like a priest at a funeral, "We lost someone.. Of.. Priority." Michael glanced around nervously, having trouble with his words, "The most we can do now is go on living, for Baron." he looked down to the ground and nodded once, as if reassuring himself, and continued, "We will continue to umm, live our lives to the fullest. Whatever may be happening right now to us all, we will get through it together. Umm.. Yeah."  
  
"And we should just go home and get some more rest. Tomorrow is another day. Right?" Lianna spoke up, ending her distant trance.  
  
"Right." the other four spoke in sync.  
  
Before they left, Laura declared to everyone that she needed to go to the bathroom first and sadly left Richie's embrace, heading in the direction of the cafeteria, as it held the nearest bathroom. She reached the double doors and stepped inside, swiftly striding along the wall.  
  
Mr. Dedmon jumped out from behind a door, grabbing Laura's shoulders and shaking her violently. "Why did you do it?!"  
  
Laura screamed loudly and studdered her words, "Wh-what?! I-I didn't do a- anything!"  
  
Mr. Dedmon stopped shaking her but grasped her shoulders tightly, a fierce glare shot fire from his eyes. "You drove him to suicide, bitch!" he hissed every word.  
  
Laura shook her head and relaxed her scared eyes. "No... He was in my way... I ha-.." her tone showed no emotion and her words drifted into silent mouthings.  
  
"You mean you-" Mr. Dedmon's words were cut short as a balled fist was thrust against his stomach, and he fell backwards, clutching the point of impact.  
  
Miss Higman stood and lifted a hand to wave. "I'll be off now. See you all tomorrow." she walked slowly and watched the ground, heading towards b hall.  
  
Lianna let out a silent breath and glanced towards the cafeteria double doors just as Laura appeared.  
  
"Alright, let's go." Laura walked over to Richie, not making eye contact with any of them, and clung to his arm just as she had done with they had first met.  
  
Michael nodded and led the group around the corner of the band room, deciding not to mention the letter-today at least.  
  
Laura and Richie walked closely behind Michael as Lianna trailed behind, dragging her feet.  
  
Michael stopped suddenly on a street corner and Laura tripped over him, squeaking and grabbing for Richie's arm.  
  
Richie quickly lunged and grabbed Laura's hand, saving her. He pulled her up against him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You ok?"  
  
"Fine.." Laura giggled nervously and her face tinted over pink with a slight blush.  
  
After a few strides, Lianna was with the group and she tapped Michael on the shoulder, clearing her throat quietly. "Why'd you stop?"  
  
"We should get together." Michael turned his head to face Lianna.

If you think about it a little.. You can kinda get the story. ( -has a secret.- :O  
  
-Laurachan 


End file.
